


Together

by myth_taken



Series: Denial 101 [10]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 01:04:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8182907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myth_taken/pseuds/myth_taken
Summary: Tara and Willow get married. Giles gets a minister license online; Faith refuses to wear a dress because the suits are sexier; Dawn squeals fourteen times in her speech. All in all, it's perfect.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so this is in rome because i'm like 80% sure that's where they live in canon. i haven't read the comics but i love rome so it's okay. they get married in a specific ruin (it's like. these old bath houses and they're beautiful and they would never allow a wedding but that's why it's called fiction). also no one is dead and fuffy is real  
> this is also set in my denial 101 series, and there's a lot that happens between the last fic and this one. my thought is they had a poly thing going with fred, but then she had things she wanted to do so she left with the blessing of tara and willow, and now she's dating wesley and everyone is happy and not dead. i'm going to fill it all in eventually.

Willow pulled the pale pink chiffon over her head, letting it float down to the ground.

“Zip me?” she asked. 

She felt the fabric tug as Buffy pulled the zipper up the back of her dress. 

“Turn around,” Buffy said, and Willow felt her presence recede a little bit.

She turned around, smiling, and Buffy gasped. “You look wonderful, Wil.” She gingerly hugged Willow, taking care not to crush the dress. “I’m so happy for you.”

Willow grinned. “I’m happy for me, too.” 

Buffy turned around and picked a crown of leaves from her nightstand. “Is my queen ready for her crown?”

“I think she is,” Willow answered, taking a seat on Buffy’s bed.

Buffy dropped the delicate wreath onto Willow’s head, gently fussing over its position. 

“There. You’re all ready for the royal wedding.”

\--

Dawn pulled the mint green dress over Tara’s head, squealing as she did so.

“I can’t believe you’re marrying Willow! I’m so happy for you!”

Tara smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, Dawn in her sky blue bridesmaid dress hovering behind her. “I thought you’d grown out of the squealing.”

Dawn put her hands on Tara’s shoulders, spinning her around to face Dawn. “Never when it comes to you and Willow.”

Tara looked down, her half-smile betraying her joy. “I’m sort of nervous.”

“No way!” Dawn pulled Tara into a crushing hug. “You and Willow will be happy forever!”

“Thanks, Dawn,” Tara said, extricating herself from Dawn’s arms. “Do I get the crown now?”

“I forgot the crown!” Dawn spun around in her frenzy. She plucked the crown of pale roses from where it sat on her bed and put it onto Tara’s head, making a few quick adjustments. “There. Now you’re perfect.”

\--

“Show Xander?” Buffy asked.

Willow nodded, standing up. 

Buffy escorted Willow into the living room, where Xander was lounging in his suit, reading some magazine or another. He looked up when he heard Buffy and Willow enter. His face was satisfactory in its awe; he stood up and said, “Wow, Will, you look like a goddess.”

“Well, I figured ultimate evil was overdone,” Willow joked, waving her hands. “What time is it?”

Xander checked his watch. “You’ve got five minutes.”

“Okay.” Willow took a deep breath. “I can do this.”

Xander and Buffy looked at each other. Xander spoke.

“Willow, I hate to break this to you, but the curtains are on fire.”

Willow gasped. “Oh, no! I’m sorry, Buffy. I really didn’t want to do that. It’s just, when I get nervous--”

Buffy held Willow’s shoulders and looked right into her eyes. “You’ll be fine, Wil. It’s just Tara. You love Tara. She loves you.”

“Yeah, but what if she really doesn’t and she’s just been making me think she loves her so that she could take advantage of me?” 

“Believe me, she loves you.” Buffy stepped back. “Now breathe. I don’t want to have to buy new curtains.”

Willow took deep breaths, and the fire was put out. The curtains were only lightly singed. 

“You’ll be great, Wil,” Xander said. “You and Tara will have a great life together.”

Willow gulped and nodded. 

“Ready?” Buffy asked.

“I’m ready,” Willow answered.

\--

Dawn stepped back, admiring her handiwork. “Okay. You ready to show Andrew and Fred?”

Tara ducked her head. Dawn didn't check, though, before she threw open her bedroom door to reveal Tara to the others. Tara stepped out, suddenly beaming, and Fred immediately stood up and took her hands. 

“Oh, Tara, you look gorgeous,” she said. “I can't believe you're finally getting married!”

Tara nodded. “It's unbelievable.”

Andrew pushed his way into the conversation. “I, for one, have seen this coming for years,” he assured the group. 

“It's not like it was exactly a surprise,” Dawn answered, rolling her eyes.

Andrew hastily checked his watch. “We really should be going.”

Tara nodded and let Dawn lead her out into the limousine.

\--

They arrived at the venue, the crumbling ruins of old Roman bath houses, with time to spare, and Buffy wasted no time in ushering Willow into her tent, where she would stay until it was time to walk to the altar. She and Tara had decided to keep the tradition of not seeing each other the day of the wedding, and Buffy and Dawn were determined to keep the pair separate.

“Tara doesn’t have to sit in a tent,” Willow complained.

“I will make sure to force Tara into this tent for fifteen minutes after the wedding,” Buffy promised.

Willow pouted. “But I’m allowed to see her then! It’s not fair. I knew an evening wedding was a bad idea.”

Buffy grinned. “Then we’ll shove both of you into the tent and see what happens. Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t want any of your guests to combust mid-ceremony. And I thought you wanted the new moon?”

Willow pushed Buffy. “Stop making sense.”

“Don’t ruin the finery,” Buffy chided.

\--

Dawn led Tara to stand just outside the ruin they had chosen for their ceremony, where Oz was standing in the twilight. “Stay here,” she said. “I have to coordinate with Buffy.”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be,” Tara answered.

“You could be sneaking to meet Willow before the wedding,” Dawn countered. “Human resolve is notoriously weak.” 

“I think I can wait,” Tara said. “Go coordinate.”

Dawn rushed off, leaving Tara to stand alone with Oz.

“Congratulations,” Oz said. “Willow’s a pretty great girl.”

“Yeah,” Tara agreed.

\--

“All right, Wil, I think it’s your time,” Buffy said.

“Excellent. I like this time,” Willow said. “It’s a good time.” She bounced. “And it’s all mine.”

She let Buffy lead her to stand next to the archway to enter the ruin. Xander was there, and so was Faith in her suit, having kicked up a fit over the dresses “not being sexy enough.”

“That suit covers way more than my dress,” Buffy chided, nudging Faith.

Faith winked. “Yeah, but don’t you think I’m hotter in this?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Pretty sure you’re not the focus of today, Faith.” 

“Anyway,” Xander interrupted, “I’m clearly the sexiest.”

Willow giggled. 

Xander started to say something to her, but they were interrupted by music from inside the ruin.

\--

Dawn came running back. “You ready?” she asked.

Tara laughed. “I was born ready.”

“Okay!” Dawn grinned and clapped her hands. “I’m so excited!”

“Me, too,” Tara replied.

The music began.

\--

Willow watched Buffy step through the archway. She couldn’t watch Buffy walk; that would be suspiciously close to seeing Tara. 

\--

Dawn hugged Tara and took a moment to compose herself. Then she walked, leaving Tara with Fred and Oz.

\--

Faith reached over and adjusted Willow’s crown. “Nice gig, Red.” Then she was gone.

\--

Fred pulled Tara into a sweet, soft, hug, then pulled away. “Now I’ve gotta derumple your dress,” she said, pulling at Tara’s sleeve.

“You’ll miss your entrance,” Tara answered.

“Oh, no!” Fred rushed to the archway, and Tara could see the excitement bubbling up inside of her as she walked in.

\--

Willow and Xander were the only ones left. Xander pulled her in for a quick hug, then said, “I can’t believe we’re finally here.”

“At least  _ I’m  _ not going to leave her at the altar,” Willow teased.

“Just for that, I’m leaving,” Xander answered, and he stepped through the arch.

\--

Oz shook Tara’s hand. “I don’t have anything particularly deep to say.” He shrugged. “Sorry.” And soon, he was gone too, and Tara was alone.

\--

Willow was about to start her walk, but then she stopped. Tara was staring across at her, and she looked so perfect, so wonderful, so irrevocably  _ her _ . She was perfect.

\--

It was time. Tara stepped into the arch, preparing herself, and there she was, standing in the other arch, across from Tara, and she was breathtaking.

\--

Tara took a step. Another. Part of her just wanted to run to Willow, kiss her, take that beautiful crown off that beautiful head and mess up that beautiful hair.

But most of her wanted to keep walking, slowly, and not ruin this lovely, perfect, quiet, gentle,  _ calm _ , moment. 

\--

Willow lifted her foot, put it down. Lifted the other, put it down. She felt clunky and slow, but she hoped her friends and “family” and  _ Tara _ were all seeing a graceful figure glide to her almost-wife. Almost wife! She had to suppress a squeal, and her hands had already betrayed her excitement with a wiggle or two.

\--

Tara kept her eyes on Willow. She could see her hands move with excitement, and she grinned, and she was almost there, she was so close, so close, so close--

\--

Willow could tell Tara had seen her hands shake. She had seen it, and she thought it was cute, and Willow was so happy, and she was almost there, she was so close, so close, so close--

\--

And Tara reached the altar, but she couldn’t touch Willow, she knew she couldn’t yet, but she was there, and they were going to be married, and that was all she needed.

\--

Willow had made it. For the first time, she tore her eyes away from Tara, and she saw Giles, giving the couple his best fatherly smile with his big fancy book open, and Buffy, Faith, Xander, Dawn, Fred, and Oz all smiling, and she looked the other way and saw everyone watching them, happy and excited, and Willow, too, was happy and excited.

\--

Tara could barely hear what Giles was saying. It wasn’t a very involved ceremony for him; between Tara’s general atheism and Willow’s Judaism and their Wiccan tendencies and supernatural knowledge, it had been hard to settle on a particular style. Giles had gotten his marriage license online when it had become clear that he couldn’t walk them  _ both _ down the aisle.

\--

Willow made sure to listen to Giles’s every word. 

“We gather to celebrate the union of two of our favorite witches, women, and people with a traditional handfasting ceremony. Willow, Tara, please join right hands.”

Willow reached out her hand and was met with Tara’s. She squeezed Tara’s hand, and her heart warmed when Tara smiled back.

\--

Tara’s hand was warm and safe in Willow’s, and when Giles told them to cross their left hands underneath, Tara was even quicker to respond.

“You are now, in the eyes of the gods above, well and truly married, as long as love shall last.”

\--

Married! Willow was married! To Tara Maclay! They still had to sign a thing, but that wasn’t really the important part, and they had done the handfasting at the new moon, and they were married.

\--

Whoa. Tara had never thought she would be married. Even walking down the aisle, part of her was sure that Willow would turn on her heel and run far, far away…

But Willow hadn’t, and Tara was thrilled. And surprised, but not really, because she knew Willow loved her. It was written into her heart, and now into the laws of the universe, because they were married.

\--

“You may release your hands. The deed is done.” 

Willow’s hands returned to her sides with reluctance.

Giles reached into his pocket. “And now you have to sign this paper, and Buffy, as a witness.”

Willow stepped forward and took the pen. She imbued her signature with the power of herself and her love, and she felt the disconnect after she lifted the pen and handed it to Tara.

\--

Tara’s signature was full of herself and of Willow, and she knew it was the most powerful thing she had ever done. She could feel it.

She stepped back as Buffy stepped forward, taking the pen from Tara and signing the sheet with a certain amount of finality. 

And that was it. They were married for real.

\--

“You may kiss the bride.”

Finally, the moment Willow had been waiting for. She stepped forward, almost shy, and took Tara’s hands. She leaned forward, and then she was kissing Tara, who was her wife, who was beautiful, who needed to be loved forever.

\--

And Tara was kissing Willow, her wife, her love, her favorite witch, and she knew she had not made a mistake with this one, and that somehow Willow didn’t think she had made a mistake either.

Tara felt her feet lift from the ground, and she smiled, knowing that she was in good hands.

\--

The reception was everything Willow had hoped for. She and Tara sat at a big table under a tent with all their friends, talking and laughing and generally having a good time. It was somehow not too late for dinner (not if you were Italian, anyway), which was helpful to their whole “have the wedding underneath a new moon without making vampires go poof” theme.

And all of their friends made speeches and toasts. The first, of course, was Xander, not only because he was best man, but also because he’d immediately yelled, “I call first speech!” when Willow asked him to be best man.

After everyone had shuffled in and sat down, Xander stood up. 

“So, I called first speech,” he said, taking a bit of paper out of his back pocket, “and I promise you, I am incapable of disappointing.”

Everyone laughed, mostly because a lot of them knew Xander pretty well.

“When I met Willow, well, I actually can’t tell you about it, because I’m pretty sure I couldn’t talk yet. Sunnydale is a small town.

“When I met Tara, though, I could talk, and I even knew some things. And one of the things I knew was that Willow and Tara were made for each other. Their souls fit together like puzzle pieces, or like a stake and a vampire--”

“Hey!” 

Everyone turned to look at Spike, who had just stood up. 

“Stop bein’ discriminatory!”

“Sorry, Spike. A stake and an evil vampire, or other things that fit together. You pick.

“Anyway, the point is, as someone who has watched Willow through all phases of life, from telling everyone in kindergarten she was a cat in disguise to her seventh grade rebellion of using pen for her math homework all the way up to yesterday’s drunken retelling of  _ Twelfth Night _ \--”

“Xander Harris, you made that up!” Willow yelled. “You didn’t even see me yesterday!”

“Okay, fine, I couldn’t think of anything funny. But anyway, I’ve been with her through all of this. And this makes me uniquely qualified to tell you all if Tara is right for her. And my expert opinion is yes, Tara is perfect.” Xander bowed his head. “Thank you.”

He sat down amid clapping.

\--

Tara had gotten to choose who had the next speech. She had apologized to Buffy, who of course had known them for longer, and asked Fred.

Fred stood.

“Hi, y’all,” she started, grinning nervously. “I’m going to keep this short, but it’s short and sweet, because Tara and Willow are the sweetest people I know. And I didn’t write anything down, because I thought, well, how hard can it be to tell the truth, but I forgot that I have to organize it, so bear with me.

“Tara and I have a shared heritage, in a way. We’re both from Southern families, except my family was a lot nicer to me than Tara’s was. But somehow Tara turned out nicer than me, and nicer than everyone I know.

“And Willow’s an amazing witch, and a wonderful person, and who better for an amazing witch and wonderful person than another person with those same traits? So, basically, I’m really glad y’all are married. Thanks for listening to my ramblin’.”

She sat down, and Tara leaned over and hugged her. “Thanks for rambling, she whispered.”

\--

This time, Giles stood up. “We have lots of wonderful speeches planned for between the other courses, but for now, we have antipasta.”

Willow had to let go of Tara’s hand to eat, and it was the most tragic event of her night.

\--

Tara loved the food, but she loved the people more. Especially  _ her _ person. She kept having to brush little touches against Willow. She’d just bump elbows, maybe, or else she’d touch her shoulder to Willow’s, or hit their knees together. Anything to remind her that Willow was real, she was there, and she loved Tara. 

And Faith kept flirting shamelessly, mostly with Buffy, but she got a few in at Fred and Wesley, and Xander was telling stories from Willow’s childhood, and Tara was pretty much happy just listening. Sometimes Willow would look at her with her “I’m worried Tara isn’t getting the chance to talk” face, and that was even better, because it was a reminder that Willow really cared. 

\--

Between the appetizer and first course, it was Buffy’s turn to talk. She stood, looking around at everybody, and began.

“Look, I’m not going to bother you guys with first impressions. I met Willow, yeah, and I met Tara, but that doesn’t mean anything compared to the life I’ve lived with them.

“Willow’s been my best friend for years now. She knows I would do anything for her. Even write a speech and stand up in front of lots of people to say it.”

That got a laugh. 

“Tara’s been my best friend’s girlfriend for not as many years, but still a lot. And I have to say, she’s a pretty good one. I want to give Tara the metaphorical award for the best possible girl Willow could marry.

“When we were seniors in high school, a vampire duplicate of Willow showed up in our reality. Willow spoke of this vampire in first person, saying, ‘I’m evil, and skanky, and I think I’m kind of gay.’ We can thank whatever gods there might be for the fact that only one of those things turned out to be true, and that it turned out to be true in favor of Tara, who is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met.”

Buffy sat down, and everyone clapped for her.

\--

Tara couldn’t believe Willow’s friends liked her. They all  _ liked _ her. They were giving  _ speeches  _ about how  _ good _ she was. She wasn’t even good! She would never, ever get used to looking at Willow and seeing admiration in her eyes. 

Dawn was next, and Tara had been waiting for Dawn to talk all night. She and Willow had agreed ahead of time to keep a tally of how many times she squealed.

They got their first squeal immediately after Dawn stood up. Her speech was mostly squeals, interspersed with various exclamations of, “I’m so happy for you guys!” The only real content was, “Guys, Willow and Tara are basically my extra moms. And they were afraid to even tell me they were dating, but look! They even invited me to their wedding!” A squeal. Everyone laughed. “And I want to thank Tara for being extra there for me when everyone else was running around caring about demons and stuff. It’s good to know that someone’s there for you, too.”

Dawn sat down. Tara gave her a thumbs-up from across the table. Willow poked Tara. “How many squeals?”

“Fourteen,” Tara answered.

“Really?” Willow asked. “I got fifteen.”

“I think over ten, it’s okay to stop counting.”

“No, I have to give her a certificate later,” Willow explained. “A ‘congratulations on only squealing fourteen times’ certificate.”

Tara laughed. “I think you can pick whichever.”

\--

After dinner, the music got louder, and a cake was brought to the middle of the table where Willow, Tara, and their friends sat. Willow was handed a knife, and she stood and offered the end of the handle to Tara. “Are you ready?”

Tara nodded, standing up, and together they let go of the knife, letting it float the cake. The blade sunk in, came out, and continued cutting, controlled by Tara and Willow. 

After the first slice had been cut, Willow pulled Tara away. 

“Leave the cake to the waitstaff,” she murmured. “This is our dance.”

Willow led Tara to the dance floor. She rested her hands on Tara’s waist, and Tara’s hands found Willow’s shoulders, and they pulled each other close.

\--

Tara was vaguely aware that all their friends were watching, and that she and Willow were surrounded by people, and she was almost self-conscious, but how could she be when they were watching her dance with Willow? It was such a private attachment, but she needed everyone to see. She was Willow’s, and Willow was hers. 

\--

Willow could feel the stares of all her friends. Part of her wished they were all dancing too, that she could focus on Tara’s head on her shoulder and the softness of Tara’s waist on her hands and how gentle Tara was with her, but most of her knew that this was important. They were really married. They were really married! It was a wonderful concept. 

\--

For the second time that day, Tara felt her feet lift off the ground, but she barely noticed. She was too busy taking in every single detail about Willow: her soft hair against Tara’s cheek, her warm body pressed against Tara, the softness of her dress against Tara’s hands. 

\--

Willow’s favorite moments usually took place with her feet off the ground. This was one of them.

\--

Soon, faster songs were playing, and Faith was grinding on Buffy, and Xander was dancing like only Xander could, and Fred and Cordelia were laughing at Wesley and Angel pretending they could dance, and Tara was sitting in the grass, holding Willow close.

“This is perfect,” she murmured.

“It really is,” Willow agreed.

“I mean, I’ve been wanting this, and wanting this, and it’s so nice for it to actually happen, you know?”

“Yeah,” Willow answered. “I know.”

\--

Later, they were lying in their bed, completely entangled, exchanging tired kisses.

“Thank you,” Tara whispered.

“For what?”

“Loving me.”

“It’s not so hard.” Willow pulled Tara even closer. “You’re pretty lovable.”

\--

The next morning, they woke up, ate breakfast, and went about their days as usual, now with the certainty of their love.


End file.
